Trade Me data shows more than 340,000 searches for heaters over past two weeks

Trade Me data shows there have been more than 340,000 searches for things to help heat homes, from firewood to heaters, over the past two weeks. Photo / 123RF

New Zealanders are looking secondhand as the cost of living bites this winter.

With cooler temperatures making it that much harder to jump out of bed in the morning, Kiwis have been looking on Trade Me for things to warm them up.

Trade Me data shows there have been more than 340,000 searches for things to help heat homes, from firewood to heaters, over the past two weeks.

Up to 15 of the top 20 trending searches were things to keep you warm, including merino, wool, puffer jackets and thermals.

Since the start of June, Icebreaker has been searched for nearly 6000 times, more than three times the number of Icebreaker items currently on Trade Me, which is 1536.

Spokeswoman Millie Silvester said they always see a spike in these items around winter.

“This recent cold snap has really meant there’s been a larger increase in searches”.

Silvester said now is the time to put those old items sitting in the back of the wardrobe up for sale.

“If you do have old woollen socks lying around or thermals you know longer want or need, there are thousands of Kiwis searching for them right now.”

This increase in home heating costs has sparked a winter fire-safety message.

Fire and Emergency are urging people to check and clean their chimneys to avoid an unwanted fire.

Fire crews get called to up to 600 chimney fires each year across the country.

Community readiness and recovery acting national manager Adrian Nacey said Fire and Emergency have three top tips to keep people, their families and their properties safe.

• Clean and get your chimney checked by a specialist.
• Burn clean, dry wood.
• Make sure to cool ashes in a metal container before disposing of them.

Nacey said people also need to be careful using electrical heaters, including electric blankets.

He said people should keep everything a metre from the heater at all times and check electric blankets for hotspots before jumping into bed.